Ultimate TOEFL Vocabulary List: The 327 Best Words to Know • PrepScholar TOEFL
Word
Definition
Abundant
Present in large quantities.
Accumulate
To gradually collect.
Accurate
Correct; free from errors.
Accustomed
Used to something.
Acquire
To come into possession of.
Adamant
Refusing to change an opinion.
Adequate
Enough to suit your needs.
Adjacent
Close to or next to.
Adjust
To change something so it serves its purpose better.
Advantage
Something that makes it easier to achieve success.
Advocate
To publicly support.
Adverse
Unfavorable; against one’s desires.
Aggregate
To combine.
Aggressive
Assertive and pushy.
Allocate
To put aside for a specific purpose.
Alternative
Another option or choice.
Amateur
Someone who is inexperienced or not highly skilled in a particular area.
Ambiguous
Having several potential meanings; unclear and difficult to understand.
Ambitious
Having large goals.
Amend
To change for the better; to improve.
Ample
Plentiful.
Anomaly
Deviation from the norm.
Annual
Occurring yearly.
Antagonize
To tease or be hostile towards a person or group.
Attitude
Manner or feeling.
Attribute
To give credit.
Arbitrary
Based on a whim or random decision.
Arduous
Requiring a lot of effort.
Assuage
To lessen a negative feeling.
Assume
To suppose without solid proof.
Augment
To increase or make larger.
Benefit
Something positive or advantageous.
Berate
To scold.
Bestow
To give as a gift.
Boast
To brag or talk with excessive pride.
Boost
To help raise or increase something.
Brash
Rude and tactless.
Brief
Short (in terms of time).
Brusque
Abrupt to the point of rudeness.
Cacophony
A harsh, unpleasant mixture of noise.
Cease
To stop.
Censure
To express strong disapproval.
Chronological
Arranged in order of time or date.
Clarify
To make clear; to remove confusion.
Coalesce
To combine or grow together.
Coerce
To force someone to do something against their will.
Cognizant
Being aware or having knowledge of something.
Cohesion
Uniting; becoming one.
Coincide
To occur at the same time.
Collapse
To fall down or break down.
Collide
To hit one another with a forceful impact.
Commitment
Dedication to a cause or activity.
Community
A group of people who live or work together.
Conceal
To hide.
Concur
To agree.
Conflict
A disagreement or fight.
Constrain
To restrict or repress.
Contemplate
To consider thoughtfully.
Continuously
To go on without stopping.
Contradict
To give the opposite opinion.
Contribute
To give something (usually money or time) to a common fund or cause.
Convey
To make known.
Copious
Abundant.
Core
Central; of main importance.
Corrode
To gradually wear away.
Cumbersome
Burdensome; clumsy
Curriculum
The courses given by a school or program.
Data
Facts, statistics, or pieces of information.
Decay
To decline in health or excellence.
Deceive
To trick or mislead.
Decipher
To find the meaning of.
Declaration
An announcement.
Decline
1. To politely refuse. By the way: we have built the world's best online TOEFL course. Get online practice (TPO-sytle!) and individual grading and feedback on Speaking and Writing. To be fair, it's possible to get a good TOEFL score studying alone. But PrepScholar is the world's most effective TOEFL course if you are worried about the TOEFL and are struggling to improve your score. Learn how you can improve your TOEFL score by 15 points today. 2. To deteriorate (especially in terms of health.)
Degrade
To lower in quality.
Demonstrate
To show.
Deny
To state that something isn’t true.
Deplete
To significantly decrease.
Deposit
To deliver and leave an item.
Desirable
Worth having or wanting.
Despise
To hate.
Detect
To locate something.
Deter
To discourage.
Deviate
To differ from the norm.
Devise
To plan or create.
Diatribe
A sharp criticism or attack.
Digress
To wander from the main subject.
Dilemma
A situation where one must choose between two difficult choices.
Diminish
To shrink or reduce.
Dispose
To get rid of.
Disproportionate
Too large or small when compared to something else.
Disrupt
To interrupt by causing a disturbance.
Distort
To misrepresent.
Distribute
To give portions of something.
Diverse
Showing a lot of variety.
Divert
To cause a change of course.
Dynamic
Constantly changing.
Ease
To reduce unpleasantness or difficulty.
Efficient
Maximizing productivity.
Eliminate
To remove.
Elite
A select, above-average group.
Eloquent
Moving speech or writing.
Emphasize
To give special importance to when speaking or writing.
Endure
To suffer through something difficult with patience.
Enhance
To intensify or magnify.
Epitome
A perfect example of something.
Equivalent
Equal.
Erroneous
Incorrect.
Estimate
An approximate value.
Evade
To avoid or escape.
Evaluate
To assess.
Evidence
Facts or information that help prove or disprove something.
Evolve
To gradually change.
Exemplary
Worthy of imitation.
Exclude
To leave out.
Exclusive
Not admitting the majority.
Expand
To increase in size.
Expertise
Expert knowledge or skill in a particular field.
Exploit
To use selfishly.
Expose
To reveal or unmask.
Extension
An act of making something longer.
Extract
To get or remove something.
Famine
A time when there is an extreme lack of food.
Feasible
Possible to do.
Finite
Having an end or limits.
Flaw
A feature that ruins the perfection of something.
Fluctuate
To change continually.
Focus
The central point or idea.
Fortify
To strengthen.
Framework
A skeletal structure designed to support something.
Frivolous
Unnecessary; of little importance
Function
A purpose natural to a person or thing.
Fundamental
Of primary importance.
Gap
A space in between to objects.
Garbled
Communication that is distorted and unclear.
Generate
To produce.
Grandiose
Pompous; overly important.
Hackneyed
Overused and unoriginal.
Haphazard
Lacking planning.
Harsh
Not gentle; unpleasant.
Hasty
In a hurry.
Hazardous
Full of risk.
Hesitate
To pause, often due to reluctance.
Hierarchy
A ranking system.
Hindrance
Something that causes delay or resistance.
Hollow
Empty inside.
Horror
An intense feeling of fear.
Hostile
Extremely unfriendly.
Hypothesis
An unproven idea that attempts to explain something.
Identical
Exactly the same.
Illiterate
Unable to read.
Illustrate
To explain by using an example.
Impact
Effect or influence.
Impair
To worsen.
Implement
To carry out.
Imply
To strongly suggest.
Impose
To force upon.
Impoverish
To reduce to poverty.
Incentive
A reason to do something.
Incessant
Continuing without pause.
Incidental
A minor part.
Incite
To urge on.
Inclination
A preference.
Incompetent
Incapable; lacking ability.
Inconsistent
Changing randomly.
Indefatigable
Untiring.
Indisputable
Not able to be challenged.
Ineffective
Not producing any major impact.
Inevitable
Unable to be avoided.
Infer
To guess based on evidence.
Inflate
To increase in size.
Influence
The ability to have an impact of something.
Inhibit
To hinder or restrain.
Initial
The first.
Inquiry
An investigation to determine the truth.
Integral
Necessary to complete the whole.
Integrate
To combine.
Interpret
To explain the meaning of something.
Intervene
To come between people, objects, or an event and change what is happening.
Intrepid
Fearless.
Intricate
Highly detailed.
Invasive
Intrusive.
Investigate
To examine or study.
Irascible
Easy to anger.
Irony
The use of words to give a meaning opposite to their literal meaning.
Irresolute
Uncertain.
Jargon
Words specific to a certain job or group.
Jointly
Together.
Knack
A special talent or skill.
Labor
Work or effort.
Lag
To fall behind.
Lampoon
To mock or ridicule.
Languish
To become weak; to be neglected.
Lecture
A talk given to an audience.
Leery
Wary.
Legitimate
Lawful.
Lenient
Merciful; less harsh.
Likely
Probable.
Ludicrous
Ridiculous.
Maintain
To continue at the same level.
Major
Very important.
Manipulate
To influence, especially in an unfair way.
Maximize
To increase to the greatest possible size.
Measure
To find the size and dimensions of something.
Mediocre
Ordinary, average.
Mend
To fix.
Method
A way of doing something.
Migrate
To move from one place to another.
Minimum
The smallest or lowest amount possible.
Misleading
Giving the wrong idea.
Modify
To change.
Morose
Gloomy, depressed.
Negligent
Lazy, neglectful.
Nonchalant
Indifferent, unexcited.
Obey
To follow orders or instructions.
Obtain
To get.
Obvious
Easily understood.
Opponent
Someone on the opposite side for a game or contest.
Oppress
To unfairly burden.
Origin
The source; where something began.
Paradigm
A typical example of something.
Parsimonious
Frugal, stingy.
Partake
To join in.
Partial
Preferring one option over others.
Paucity
Something existing in very small amounts; scarcity.
Peak
The highest or most important point.
Peripheral
Located on the side or edge.
Permeate
To penetrate or pass through.
Persist
To continue, especially when facing opposition.
Pertain
Relate.
Phase
A period or stage in a process.
Poll
A record of opinions or votes.
Potent
Powerful.
Pragmatic
Practical, sensible.
Praise
To give approval or admiration.
Precede
To come before.
Precise
Exact.
Prestigious
Having a high reputation.
Prevalent
Widespread.
Primary
First; most important.
Prior
Previous or earlier.
Proceed
To continue doing something.
Progeny
Offspring.
Promote
To further to progress of something.
Prosper
To do well.
Proximity
Nearness in time or space.
Quarrel
Disagreement or fight; to have an argument.
Range
The distance between two things, often the maximum and the minimum.
Rank
An official position or station.
Rebuke
To sternly disapprove or reprimand.
Recapitulate
To give a brief summary.
Recede
To retreat.
Recommend
To present someone with confidence and approval.
Reform
To make changes that improve something.
Regulate
To supervise or control a process so that it functions correctly.
Reinforce
To strengthen with added support.
Reject
To say no to something that is offered.
Release
To free; to allow to be known.
Rely
To depend on.
Reproach
To express disapproval or disappointment.
Require
To need for a specific purpose.
Resent
To feel bitterness or anger towards someone or something.
Resign
To give up an office or position.
Resist
To withstand the effect of.
Resolve
To come to a firm decision.
Restrict
To confine or keep within limits.
Retain
To continue to do something or keep something.
Retract
1. To draw back in. 2. To withdraw something after it’s found to be untrue.
Retrieve
To bring back.
Rhetorical
Used just for style or impact.
Rigid
Stiff; unyielding.
Rotate
To turn.
Safeguard
Something that serves as protection or ensures safety.
Scrutinize
To very carefully examine.
Section
A part of the whole.
Select
To choose.
Sequence
Things that follow each other in a certain order.
Severe
1. Harsh or strict. 2. Grave, critical.
Shallow
Not deep.
Shelter
To protect from something harmful.
Shrink
To become smaller.
Significant
Important, noteworthy.
Source
A person, place, or thing where something was obtained.
Sparse
Thinly scattered.
Specify
To clearly indicate which one.
Speculate
To form a theory without strong evidence.
Solitary
Alone; without others.
Somber
Gloomy; depressing.
Soothe
To calm or comfort.
Squalid
Filthy and unpleasant.
Stable
Unlikely to change or fail.
Stagnant
Sluggish, showing little movement.
Strategy
A plan to reach a desired outcome.
Subsequent
Coming after something in time.
Substitute
A person or thing acting in place of another.
Subtle
Difficult to notice right away.
Sufficient
Enough to serve a particular purpose.
Summarize
To briefly give the main points.
Supervise
To oversee work or a process.
Supplant
To take the place of something else.